Customer Reviews

Max Fleischer's Color Classics: Somewhere in Dreamland

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This collection represents a quest to track down every one of the 36 Fleischer Studios `Color Classics' cartoon series. There are 35 of them on these two disks. One of the `Color Classics', "Time For Love" has only survived in a single black and white print found in Europe (this was seven years ago and a color version has since turned up). The only `Color Classics' cartoon not included is "Tears Of An Onion" which is explained as not being here because "it is under copyright and therefore not in `public domain'" This explains a lot because obviously Jerry Beck and company are on a budget. Despite the poor condition of some of the prints included here, there are two processes that I know of that are used to transfer film to video and/or digital; one is a frame-by-frame reader that takes the image directly off of the film for maximum clarity and color but it is a tedious process and is costly. Look at the excellent Disney collection of `Silly Symphonies' if you want to see how it should be done. The second process which seems to be used by all other DVD/VHS collections of cartoons I've seen, including this one, is projecting the film onto a reader screen that will inevitably shave a little off the top, bottom and sides of the image and loses some image and color integrity. The result is one we cartoon affectionados are becoming used to in VHS and DVD collections, kinda dark and kinda fuzzy and it makes you wish you could have been there at the theater at the time. But for now this is all we're going to get. I've watched this one several times now anyway though.

DISK ONE
1. Poor Cinderella (starring Betty Boop) **
2. Little Dutch Mill **
3. An Elephant Never Forgets **
4. Song of the Birds
5. Dancing On the Moon 1935 **
6. Somewhere in Dreamland **
7. The Little Stranger
8. The Cobweb Hotel
9. Greedy Humpty Dumpty
10. Hawaiian Birds
11. Play Safe
12. Christmas Comes But Once a Year **
13. Bunny Mooning
14. Chicken A La King
15. A Car-Tune Portrait
16. Peeping Penguins
DISK TWO
1. Educated Fish" (1937)
2. Little Lamby
3. Hold It! **
4. Hunky and Spunky (1938)
5. All's Fair At the Fair **
6. Playful Polar Bears
7. Always Kickin' (starring Hunky and Spunky)
8. Small Fry
9. Barnyard Brat (starring Hunky and Spunky)
10. The Fresh Vegetable Mystery **
11. Little Lambkins
12. Ants In the Plants **
13. A Kick In Time (starring Hunky and Spunky)
14. Snubbed By A Snob (starring Hunky and Spunky)
15. You Can't Shoe A Horsefly (starring Hunky and Spunky)
**optional audio commentary by Jerry Beck**

THE LOST EPISODES
A documentary about the making of this collection of the complete `Color Classics' cartoons. It includes four uncut ultra-rare cartoons:
1*The Kids In the Shoe
2*Time For Love (the only known copy in existence is this black & white version)
3*Musical Memories
4*Vitamin Hay (starring Hunky and Spunky)

ART GALLERY
Working sketches of various characters from the `Color Classics' and other cartoons plus photographs of production activities inside the Fleischer studios in the 1930's.

Republic Entertainment should be indicted for cultural crimes since they refuse to release first-generation prints of Max and Dave Fleischer's "Color Classics" series. As a result of this neglect, VCI and Kit Parker Films have compiled "Somewhere in Dreamland" - a fine collection of public-domain Fleischer cartoons from 1934 to 1941. Most of the "Color Classics" are represented in this two-DVD set, with the print quality ranging from excellent to poor. The series contains several Fleischer gems, including Betty Boop's "Poor Cinderella" (1934), "The Kids in the Shoe" (1935), "The Cobweb Hotel" (1936), "All's Fair at the Fair" (1938) and "Ants in the Plants" (1940). Though influenced by the success of Disney's "Silly Symphonies," the Fleischer spirit is evident in many "Color Classics," particularly the lesser-known entries such as "Chicken Ala King" (1936), "A Car-Tune Portrait" (1936) and "Hold It!" (1937). The DVD set also features two Oscar-nominated shorts, "Educated Fish" (1937) and "Hunky and Spunky" (1938), which are enjoyable but do not represent the Fleischers' best work. Until Republic gets its act together, "Somewhere in Dreamland" will remain the definitive "Color Classics" collection and is highly recommended to aficionados of vintage animation.

"Somewhere in Dreamland" is a 2-disk set featuring over 30 Technicolor animated shorts by Max Fleischer. The DVD mainly collects the "Color Classics" series, which were produced to showcase the Fleischer's "Stero-optical Process," whereby the animators placed cells over three-dimensional backgrounds to create the illusion of depth.

The cartoons have undergone both digital picture and sound restoration, and the disk is packed with bonus features. Included are commentary by animation historian Jerry Beck, production artwork still frame gallery, a documentary about the Fleischer studio including excerpts from additional Color Classics cartoons. Also, a separate Mono audio track is available, preserving the sound as originally presented.

Highlights of the set include "Greedy Humpty Dumpty," "The Cobweb Hotel," "Ants In The Plants," "Dancing On The Moon," "Hold It," "An Elephant Never Forgets," and "Small Fry" and "The Fresh Vegetable Mystery." Betty Boop appears in "Poor Cinderella" and Grampy shows up for "Christmas Comes But Once a Year." Also included are two Academy Award Cartoon Short Subject nominees - "Educated Fish" (1937) and "Hunky and Spunky" (1938). Of course, "Somewhere in Dreamland" is also included.

The Fleischer studios have not been treated well by DVD. Let's hope "Somewhere in Dreamland" is the start of a new trend.

A nice find this set. More please! Some top cartoons like COBWEB HOTEL (clever & scary) and ALL'S FAIR AT THE FAIR (love the 1930s Deco styling!) amid a few weaker but still enjoyable ones. Recommended!

Oddly you can only find the track listing by playing it, so here's what the 2 DVDs contain...

1 Poor Cinderella
2 Little Dutch Mill
3 An Elephant Never Forgets
4 Song Of The Birds
5 Dancing On The Moon
6 Somewhere In Dreamland
7 Little Stranger
8 Cobweb Hotel
9 Greedy Humpty Dumpty
10 Hawaiian Birds
11 Play Safe
12 Christmas Comes But Once A Year
13 Bunny Mooning
14 Chicken A La King
15 Car Tune Portrait
16 Peeping Penguins
17 True Love
18 Musical Memories

1 Educated Fish
2 Little Lamby
3 Hold It
4 Hunky and Spunky
5 All's Fair At The Fair
6 Playful Polar Bears
7 Always Kickin'
8 Small Fry
9 Barnyard Brat
10 Fresh Vegetable Mystery
11 Little Lambkins
12 Ants In The Plants
13 Kick In Time
14 Snubbed By A Snob
15 You Can't Shoe A Horsefly

This 2 disc DVD set features all but one of the "Color Classics" that were released by Paramount Pictures in the 30s and 40s. These cartoons were originally shown in theaters between features. In the 50s through the 70s, these cartoons were shown on TV. In the 80s and 90s, with the cartoons in the public domain, they were put on VHS and sold cheaply by various companies. Now they are available on DVD.

As all of these cartoons are in the public domain, and these prints are made from the best available copies, these prints have faded, scratches and in some cases poor soundtracks. However being the only DVD release of all but one of the "Color Classics" makes this a well worthwhile buy.

The DVD has audio commentary for some cartoons, one with a commentary by Betty Boop herself. There is also an artwork gallery showing some original conceptual sketches for certain cartoons. Some prints of cartoons have been digitally enhanced, and some of these prints are the best quality that I have seen thus far, or at least until the original studio makes prints from the original negatives.

It's a worthwhile buy to relieve your childhood.

These cartoons are not restored in any real sense, and a few are pretty rough - to the point of being unwatchable. One has the audio and video out of sync by two seconds. I wish Greedy Humpty Dumpty was in better shape, which is near the top of my list of Fleisher cartoons. My copy snags on disk 1, item 7, and I have to go back to the menu to prompt it along. Fans of Fleischer will nevertheless embrace this collection and thank the producers for making available in any form what we would not otherwise have. I enjoyed the audio commentary provided by the producers. Fleischer videos and DVDs come and go, and I suspect it will just be a question of time before Republic or someone invests the money to fully restore the Color Classics - probably not in my lifetime, though. My children, as well as I, love this DVD collection. Although the price is a little steep, it's still a good value for 4.5 hours of Fleischer magic!

I have the revised edition of this set and it was money well spent. The Stero-optical Process is always fun but the most overlooked quality of these gems is how they really get inside of you. Some call these cheesy and some are but cartoons like "Somewhere in Dreamland," "Play Safe," and "The Little Dutch Mill" are impossible to watch without tearing up. Now DISNEY cartoons are cheesy! They're just pointless romping and frollicing through daisies. These Fleischer shorts have morals and messages that really get to you.

Despite "OK" video quality and rather vanilla audio commentaries, this is the only DVD I know of that took the effort to preserve these rare master works. Good for kids or animation collectors.

3/5

These are wonderful cartoons that I grew up with as a child and I'm only 25. It's amazing how cartoons nowadays have become so self indulgent and garish. It seems that the majority of these newer animated series have lost perspective of it's target audience and have been putting out mellowdramatic garbage since the mid-nineties. I think children of this generation would appreciate something lighthearted and refreshing like a collection of Fleischer cartoons.
There is one little flaw to this specific collection, though. In the middle of the first DVD it continues to play the same episode repeatedly... and from what I've read here in these previous reviews it's not only my DVD. Granted, it's not that big of a deal. All you have to do is return to the menu and select the next episode to play. Glitches and all, I think it's worth having these great cartoons on DVD.

I really didn't know what to expect because these cartoons are in the
public domain. I've seen these cartoons everywhere, but what drew me to
to purchase these DVD'S were that they distributed by VCI ENTERTAINMENT. They did a pretty good job with some POPEYE cartoons I had purchased previously.
I loved the set and what they did to try to cleanup the POPEYES and this
SOMEWHERE IN DREAMLAND DVD. I had completely forgot about some of the
these cartoons particularly HOLD IT. a hilarious classic, plus PLAY
SAFE, HAWAIIAN BIRDS, and ALL'S FAIR AT THE FAIR. All in all, not bad.
I applaude VCI for their efforts. Worth the money!!